


The Demon of Health

by AlysstheHatter1999



Category: Writing Prompts - Fandom
Genre: Demons, Gen, Writing Exercise, things that can go wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-16
Updated: 2018-04-16
Packaged: 2019-04-23 15:55:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14335938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlysstheHatter1999/pseuds/AlysstheHatter1999
Summary: When a white, suburban mom summons a demon of health with her friends, what's the worst that can happen?





	The Demon of Health

It all started out fairly normal... for a demon-summoning ritual, that is. It was midnight, on a Friday the 13th, and we began the chant that Becca had found in that book of spells we'd bought from Amazon. It'd been a cheaper version than the original, sold from some guy in Idaho, but hey, we figured a grimoire was a grimoire. And so, we found ourselves gathered in a basement in the lower-state of Pennsylvania, chanting in a language that none of us understood (Latin), or had ever really read before (Latin), because that just isn't something that we do, okay? Besides, the fact that we were a new coven of "witches" that didn't even believe half of the shit we were doing was actually working (probably due to mispronunciation... so proud of myself for learning that word. I'm trying to learn a new word each week and I can't even say that word but I can totally type... You know what, not important. I should really get out of this side-note), it was incredible that we hadn't killed ourselves trying shit from that book. 

So, we're in the basement, five suburban moms standing around a summoning circle with raw chicken thighs from the grocery store, colorful feathers from the craft store, some kale and brusselsprouts in a bowl, sweat from Suzy's last workout session in a cup that she had surreptitiously collected in a story that was just... _so_ funny... and a pair of earbuds wrapped in a nice circle arranged around the five points of the star in the circle. Honestly, yeah, I get it, it was kind of an odd summoning circle, and it probably would have looked like we were insane had anyone found us, but thankfully, no one did. 

So we're standing there, chanting the phrase that we learned because of Google Translate that roughly said, "I summon health". And suddenly, there's the smell of cooking chicken in the air, and I look over, away from the center of the circle, to find the raw chicken suddenly become a whole chicken that is lit on fire and literally just standing there, not doing anything, not screaming, just slowly getting burned. Which is freaky enough, until I see the kale bowl move slightly as the brusselsprouts are mixed with it to make a salad with a dressing suddenly appearing that was most definitely not there a second before. 

Now at this point, I'm like, 'What the fudge'. I'm looking around the room, and everyone else has noticed the chicken, and Becca starts screaming as this... thing (?) appears out of nowhere in the middle of the circle. In this gravelly voice (so annoying) it says, "You have summoned me. What is your wish?" It turns to each of us, and I get this glimpse of what looks like a tall, dark man with hollowed eyes and cheeks, but seemingly built like a freight train. 

"OMG!" screeched Leighla, looking at the figure before us before promptly running for the door. 

"Wait! Leighla!" I try to call, but then everyone else is running out the door too, even Tilla, (short for Artellia), and I'm left staring at this creepy-ass thing that just appeared in my basement because I summoned it. "You guys are _so_ not getting my guacamole recipe!" I shout up the stairs to their butts doing the most cardio they had in months. 

"Do you wish for me to retrieve them?" asks the thing, looking at me again. I double-take, realizing that this thing hasn't actually, I don't know, done anything to kill me yet, and then actually look at it. It's all shadow, but it's a pretty big shadow, and not in the fat way. For all I knew, we really _had_ just summoned Health itself from the fiery pitts of wherever-the-heck. 

"No, no, I think I'm okay." I said, now examining the dead, (but still standing), chicken. It had scorched the bowl. 

"Then what is your wish?" asked the thing, seeming to assess me again. "You have summoned health and yet it seems this is just another suburban mom looking for a kick because she can't seem to control anything else in her life," the creature threw up its hands and moved sulkily to the other side of the circle, "figures." 

" _Excuse me_? I am _so_ in control of my life thanks." I said, crossing my arms. 

The thing, I remember trying to tell myself that it was really a demon standing there in my basement, rolled its eyes. _"Obviously."_ it replied, looking around the room a bit with a new light of interest. 

"Hey, I had enough control to summon _you_ , didn't I?" I asked. Moving to try and face the creature again as it looked at my furnishings. It was mostly canned food down here. 

"And now you have no idea what to ask for, or probably even what I do." said the creature, focusing back on me. 

"Fine, I want to be healthy and thin." I said, giving it my, 'I'm mom so I win' look. 

"Okay, we can do that." it said, turning to face away from me, I could swear it had its arms behind its back. Suddenly, it spun towards me and ordered, "Now drop and give me twenty!" 

I crossed my arms again. "Excuse me?" 

"I said, drop and give me twenty!" The order almost echoed through the basement, it was so loud. 

I sighed and looked at it. "You can't just snap your fingers and make me thin and healthy?" 

"Your contract said _healthy and thin_. It goes in that order. And since you didn't specify a time period for you to become healthy and thin, I figured we'd work on getting you healthy first. Then you can get thin." said the thing, and I swore I could see the grin on its face as it came closer, staring me down. "Now drop and give me twenty pushups. I know you can do it. You have some muscle from picking up screaming toddlers all day in there somewhere." 

And thus began my descent into Hell. Everyday, every night, as soon as I had a free second to eat, to watch TV, to do anything, there he was. I often asked him if he did this to the other four who helped summon him. He always replied that because I was the only one who had asked anything of him, I was the only one who had summoned him this time. "And there's no loophole for you out of this contract. It has all of the weight of a faustian bargain, just without the sale of a soul. That chicken and salad was delicious, by the way." And then the thing would laugh its gravelly laugh. 

Soon, though, I did begin to see results. Every time I tried to eat chocolate, drink wine, anything, it was supernaturally swapped for apples and water, or something else that was healthy, and I started swimming in my clothes. It was Hell, because every second I didn't spend with family or friends was spent exercising and making good food. Becca, Suzy, Leighla and Tilla all said I was looking better, and they all (of course) pretended that they didn't see the demon lurking over my shoulder. 

The worst things were the notes. On mornings when I couldn't quite bring myself to roll out of bed without demonic help, I would be shoved out, and forced into the bathroom where I'd find something along the lines of, "Cathy, you have yoga this morning at 5:00 a.m. Don't be late! :)" written in blood on my bathroom mirror, which I would then have to clean. Finally, I bought a pack of Expo markers and showed the thing where they were because Expo doesn't require bleach. 

So, that's where I find myself today, a healthy, size 6 woman with no pudge in sight who is all muscle. I can dead-lift my husband's weight in one hand and my teenage-son's weight in the other, and still the demon is here. Reminding me to eat my proteins and take my pre-workouts. It's the only thing that keeps me going some days. My husband says that he doesn't like the food I make very much as it isn't very flavorful, and he never joins me at the gym, so we're talking about divorce, because honestly we just aren't happy anymore. He's pudgy, and he has almost no sex-drive, and it's just not working like it once was. The thing seems to have gotten stronger though. It's almost like it's growing with me. Getting healthier as I do. No matter what I tried in the beginning to try to send back the demon, I'm almost glad it's here with me now. I'm beginning to realize that really, it's all I need. Because now I'm strong, and healthy, and I feel awake without caffeine, and he's the only one who has stayed through this transition. 

All of my friends left, my husband is leaving, my son is honestly beginning to fear me and he should. I've been teaching him to fight, and he's a wuss about a couple of punches. I used to be a wuss, but now, I'm strong, independent since I got that job working as a gym instructor, and I'm freeing myself. All that's left is me and the him, the demon that made me me. 


End file.
